Day 6 Action

This week, the State Department announced the appointment of Ambassador Dane Smith as the senior U.S. diplomat for Darfur. This has been a key ask by advocates, seeing the need for focused, on-going and high-level attention on Darfur during the days leading up to the referendum in the South. Thank Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the appointment of Ambassador Smith and let her know that there is no time to lose.

Secretary Clinton: Violence is on the rise in Darfur, and there is the real threat of more intense deadly conflict. Ambassador Smith must move immediately to mobilize international partners in an all-out diplomatic push for peace and justice in Darfur. The government of Sudan must be made accountable for its support of violence, and there must be consequences for any that block peace. There must be unfettered access to all innocent civilians caught in the violence, and the rights of the displaced must be respected. Thank you for appointing Ambassador Smith. Now, there is no time to lose.

James Thacher

James is i-ACT’s web and graphic designer and main video editor. As a full-time staff member, he also does a little bit of everything to keep all the projects running.

Comments

Comments

Secretary Clinton: Violence is on the rise in Darfur, and there is the real threat of more intense deadly conflict. Ambassador Smith must move immediately to mobilize international partners in an all-out diplomatic push for peace and justice in Darfur. The government of Sudan must be made accountable for its support of violence, and there must be consequences for any that block peace. There must be unfettered access to all innocent civilians caught in the violence, and the rights of the displaced must be respected. Thank you for appointing Ambassador Smith. Now, there is no time to lose.

It’s about time that this country really steps up and does something significant to end the horrendous torture that the Darfur refugees have endured for what seems like forever. Are we a country that cares about Human Rights or not??

I once again must ask for decisive federal action regarding the situation in Darfur, Sudan. This genocide has been going on for years now, and no end is in sight. We may have recognized Sudan’s latest election as being very lacking in regard to freedom of speech, movement, and the ballot box, but that did not stop Omar al-Bashir from stealing the nation’s leadership. With the referendum for the fate of Southern Sudan scheduled for next year, I continue to be worried. I doubt that Bashir will honor the South’s wishes if they vote for independence. Something must be done to help these people, and it needs to be done soon. One idea that has occurred to me is that we should begin talking to the Darfurian sultans. From what I understand, the sultans have not held much national power in a long time, but the people do trust them. If you read a book called The Translator by Daoud Hari, this Darfurian man describes the sultanships and how many refugees went to them after their villages were destroyed. With these sultans (a hereditary position) appointing omdas to govern regions and sheikhs to govern villages based upon the opinions of the people affected, there is a certain air of democracy in traditional Darfurian politics. If we begin to talk to them about the situation on the ground, then I think we may learn quite a bit more about how we may help the people of Darfur and all of Sudan. In addition, I feel that whether Darfur remains a part of Sudan or breaks away (considering they were independent before the British occupation) they must have a position of strength in order to stand up for their own rights. I believe that if the sultans were to work together, pooling their resources and influence, perhaps they might give Darfur a fighting chance. The most ideal situation I can think of is a council of sultans being formed, with one of their own elected Sultan Prime. Just as our thirteen original colonies formed the Continental Congress during our revolution in order to secure our rights, the sultan council would serve the same purpose in Darfur’s hour of need. I don’t want to count my chicks before they are hatched, but I do believe that we should at least talk to these sultans and try to learn from them. They know what the Darfurians want and need better than we could ever hope to know.

Very good insight. You are very right in that the Darfuri own traditional leaderships must be brought in to the mix, but also civil society. I also believe that the new leadership that has been establishing itself within the camp, including women leaders, must also be listened to. All these years, the regular person in the camp has felt ignored. They know what is right for themselves, and they want to be heard.